Religious Right Watch

Frederick Clarkson reviews "The Family"

Hat-tip to The Revealer. Frederick Clarkson's review in PublicEye.org of Jeff Sharlet's, The Family. From the review:

Sharlet explores the role of a distinct “elite fundamentalism” through our history and culture, and illustrates how it currently operates at top levels of American business, government, and the military. This may come as a shock to those for whom overt fundamentalism in the federal government was not apparent before the administration of George W. Bush. But Sharlet demonstrates its role during the Cold War and since. We learn for example, of how “charitable choice,” the legislative precedent for George W. Bush’s “faith-based initiative,” stemmed from ideas incubated by The Family, and was sponsored by Family members, Republican Senators John Ashcroft and Dan Coats—with an assist from Family associate Senator Hillary Clinton.

Life experiences of a few can further improvements in the lives of many...sometimes slowly.

1960's - "Uncle Stanley and Uncle Ronald" help the young David A. Paterson with his spelling, read to him, and play cards with him.

1985 - Paterson reaches out to gay men and lesbian voters during his campaign for State Senate, which was his first run for public office.

1980's - Paterson introduces the State Senate's first hate crimes bill and refuses to support a compromise that did not include gay men and lesbians.

1994 - Paterson announces his support for gay marriage.

2000 - Hate crimes bill becomes law in New York State.

c. 2001 - Paterson co-sponsors State Senator Tom Duane's gay marriage bill.

2003 - Paterson becomes State Senate Minority Leader.

June 12, 2003 - Ontario becomes the first Canadian province to legalize same-sex marriage. Other provinces do the same over the course of the next two years.

July 5, 2004 - Patricia Martinez of New York marries her female partner in Ontario, Canada.

January 13, 2005 - Martinez v. County of Monroe filed in State Supreme Court on behalf of Patricia Martinez, an employee of Monroe Community College in Rochester, seeking health care benefits for her female partner.

July 20, 2005 - Same-sex marriage becomes law nationwide in Canada.

January 1, 2007 - Paterson becomes Lt. Governor of New York.

February 1, 2008 - NY State Court of Appeals rules in Martinez v. County of Monroe that marriages of same-sex couples entered into outside of New York must be recognized, as is in keeping with New York's longstanding practice of recognizing marriages from other jurisdictions.

March 17, 2008 - Paterson assumes office as the 55th Governor of New York. Sometime later, David Nocenti, legal counsel, raises issue of the Martinez v. County of Monroe ruling with Paterson.

May 14, 2008 - Governor's Office issues a memorandum to State agencies calling on them to bring their policies in line with the Martinez v. County of Monroe ruling.

May 15, 2008 - The Supreme Court of California overturns the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

May 17, 2008 - Paterson announces the May 14 memorandum.

As of May 30, 2008 - Either Martinez v. County of Monroe or a similar case is expected by many legal experts to reach the Court of Appeals, New York State's highest court. Those publicly speaking out against the memorandum and who may be involved in challenging its constitutionality include Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno; Richard E. Barnes, the executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference; Rev. Duane Motley, executive director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, and Michael Long, the head of the state Conservative Party.

Sources: The New York Times. "How Governor Set His Stance on Gay Rights," "Fighting Same-Sex Policy Seems to Be Uphill Battle" and "Gay Marriage Opponents Consider Ways to Fight New Policy," May 30, 2008.

Berlet comment re "Manga Messiah" article

The discussion continues on The Huffington Post following Bruce Wilson's post about Manga Messiah, including this from Chip Berlet:

By condensing the crucifixion narrative and combining Biblical quotes from two different places, (and including more problematic later Gospel accounts) the Manga restores the narrative of Jews as the Christ Killers rejected decades ago by most Christian leaders.

For example, as Rabbi James Rudin points out, the "Second Vatican Council in Rome" begun in 1962 "adopted the 'Nostra Aetate' (Latin for 'In Our Time') declaration that among others things "deplores the hatred, persecutions, and displays of anti-Semitism directed against the Jews at any time and from any source."

The statement pointed out that

the death of Christ ... cannot be blamed upon all the Jews then living, without distinction, nor upon the Jews of today. ... The Jews should not be presented as repudiated or cursed by God, as if such views followed from Holy Scriptures. All should take pains, then, lest in catechetical instruction and in the preaching of God's Word they teach anything out of harmony with the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.

The Manga fails in this task. The images and Bible verse cited reduces the killing of Christ to a bloodthirsty crount (sic) of taunting Jews. And a Christian publishing house needs to explain why they have restored this narrative deplored as bigoted.

[T]he antisemitism here.... may seem obscure, it may be unintentional, but it is not invisible.

The narrative of cultural despair

Tyndale Press's Manga Messiah prompted some ruminations--on John Hagee, Christian Zionism, and even Henry Ford--by Bruce Wilson and cited sources over on The Huffington Post. Some see anti-Semitism at work in Manga Messiah; others aren't convinced. Of course, some would argue that any anti-Semitism in Manga Messiah simply reflects an anti-Semitism inherent in parts of the New Testament, particularly the Gospel of St. John. Other would point out that it's more complicated than that. Etc.

However, within the post, Wilson cites an anonymous source who offers an insight that, while not directly related to Manga Messiah, is an apt summary of the Christian right's "cultural despair" narrative.

Normally the story begins with the rise of secularism in the 1960s, the abandonment of prayer in schools, and the Roe decision, all leading to an apocalyptic decline of American culture that must be arrested soon, before it is too late and "God withdraws his blessing" from America. While very few conservative evangelicals come into the vicinity of Hitler in hatefulness, elements similar to that kind of conservative-reactionary-nationalist narrative can be found in some Christian right-rhetoric: anger at those who are causing American moral decline, fear about the future, hatred of the "secularists" now preeminent in American life, and the search for scapegoats.

The "solution on offer" from the Christian right is a "return" to a "Christian America through determined political action...."

(Regarding the Manga Messiah.... In April 2007, Wired noted a serialization project called The Manga Bible, published by British publishers Hodder and Stoughton. No idea if there are stereotyping depictions in it of "the Jews," etc.)

US troops handed out religious propaganda

For a uniformed member of the US Armed Forces to engage in proselytizing activity in a foreign land is a profound violation of the separation of church and state. He or she is to serve as a US soldier and representative of the US government, not a missionary of a religious sect. But, according to this article by McClatchy, proselytizing is exactly what some military personnel would prefer to be doing.

[R]esidents of [Fallujah] are abuzz that some Americans whom they consider occupiers are also acting as Christian missionaries. Residents said some Marines at the western entrance to their city have been passing out the coins for two days in what they call a "humiliating" attempt to convert them to Christianity.

The coins have John 3:16 inscribed on one side in what RRW assumes, based on a photograph in the McClatchy story online, is Arabic. The article continues, "In the markets, people crowded around men with the coins, passing them to each other and asking in surprise, 'Have you seen this?'"

The follow-up thus far by US military officials includes a statement by Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll: "Local commanders are investigating since the military prohibits proselytizing any religion, faith or practices."

Soldiers need to be encouraged to put away distractions and personal agendas and concentrate on their job--for the sake of country and the safety of comrades.

Christian apocalypticism and US Middle East foreign policy

Chip Berlet and Nikhil Aziz have crafted a tour de force analysis of the apocalyptic theology influencing US foreign policy, particularly the rightwing Bush Administration, entitled, "Culture, Religion, Apocalypse, and Middle East Foreign Policy."

Apocalyptic thinking--especially in the Christian Right--joins other factors influencing U.S. Middle East policy....Why focus on this one factor? Because the Christian Right is a powerful force shaping politics and culture in the United States, and they are the largest voting bloc in the Republican Party, so they can expect politicians to pay attention to their interests.

Berlet's and Aziz's article is especially timely given the recent media coverage of John Hagee, a Texas mega-church pastor who wallows in some of the worst kind of apocalyptic rhetoric, including anti-Semitic stereotyping nonetheless failing to keep from Hagee's conference podium US Senator Joseph Lieberman, who in the past, oddly, compared extremist Hagee to Moses. As Max Blumethal summarized:

Hagee's vitriolic condemnation of Catholicism, his jeremiad declaring Hurricane Katrina divine punishment for New Orleans' hosting of a "homosexual rally," and his generally disturbing apocalyptic theology became national news last February when John McCain accepted his endorsement in a widely publicized ceremony.

Read here, courtesy of Bruce Wilson's research, additional outrageous rhetoric Hagee flings at his flock.

Berlet's and Aziz's article (with a real teaser of a first sentence) points out that dualistic Christian apocalypticism has long been a feature of America's collective political and cultural landscape. It

influenced public policy include colonial witch-hunts in New England; attacks on Catholics in the 1800s; claims beginning in the early 1900s that Jews controlled the media, banks, and colleges; the Palmer Raids against immigrants in 1919 and 1920; the anticommunist witch-hunts of the 1950s; and the 1990s conspiracy theories about a secret homosexual agenda.

Please enjoy "Culture, Religion, Apocalypse, and Middle East Foreign Policy."

Lieberman says Hagee's "like Moses"

Bruce Wilson on TTA has an important post on Sen. Joe Lieberman's support for extremist rightwing politico-preacher John Hagee. It includes a video.

Max Blumenthal on Huffington Post has also written about Lieberman's relationship with Hagee.

If you haven't already done so, now's a good time to register as a member (free of charge) at Digg.com. Digg is a website that tracks and ranks the popularity of web content. On Digg, one votes on the web content in question as worthwhile or worthy of ignoring. Buzz.com and Reddit.com are similar services.

Please join Digg (and Buzz and Reddit) and "vote up" Max Blumenthal's story on Digg (and Buzz and Reddit).

Christian fundamentalism on the move in UK

From British blogger Sunny Hundal's frontpage contribution on Talk To Action:

Christian fundamentalism has well and truly arrived in the UK. And it is rapidly reaching the upper echelons of the Conservative party.
.....
The human fertilisation and embryology controversy and the argument over hybrid embryos, abortion and gay rights is merely the start of a larger cultural battle that they will want to wage across Britain for years to come.
.....
[T]he first tactic of fundamentalists is to deny their links to each other until they're confident that coming out more openly won't jeopardise their agenda.

Hundal's diary is in part a response to the Channel 4 documentary of the current Dispatches series, "In God's Name."

Bruce Wilson's work exposing Hagee's extremism

The work Bruce Wilson did on uncovering John Hagee's extremist thinking is an excellent example of the positive difference one blogger can make, as Jeff Sharlet noted here on The Revealer.

Over on dKos, Bruce Wilson has more on the success of this Internet-based success.

Hagee and McCain renounce each other?

Read on TTA regarding news.